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H.O. Bouchard chooses SmartDrive for tank fleet

H.O. Bouchard, one of the Northeast’s largest tank fleets for heavy transport of energy fuels and industrial raw materials, recently deployed the SmartDrive program with Extended Recording across its entire fleet.

As a result, the company has seen improvement to its SmartDrive Safety Score—a leading indicator for assessing safe driving performance and comparing drivers, sites and other organizational units, SmartDrive said.

When Bouchard began researching video-based solutions, they contacted a fleet that previously deployed a video-based safety and analytics program, SmartDrive said, leading them to SmartDrive’s program.

“With the risks associated with hauling fuel and other heavy industrial materials our drivers face every day, the liability is out there,” said Norman Patchell, H.O. Bouchard’s director of safety and compliance. “Since implementing the SmartDrive program, we’ve been able to provide coaching and feedback that has resulted in greater driver awareness, less-aggressive driving and fewer public complaints.

“It’s reassuring to know that, with SmartDrive, we have video to clear our drivers when they are falsely accused of wrongdoing and help reduce the risk associated with commercial transportation.”

Started in 1958 as a small company operating a few dump trucks, Bouchard developed into a specialized tanker fleet providing transportation services and 18-wheeler truck maintenance to the Northeastern United States, Quebec and New Brunswick. Bouchard is one of a select group of companies employing full-time driver trainers, ensuring drivers have the necessary tools and coaching to deliver the best possible service to customers.

“SmartDrive Extended Recording provides additional evidence when minor collisions occur, so we’ve added it to our vehicles that travel in high-traffic areas, where low-impact events are likely to occur but don’t necessarily trigger the video recorder,” Patchell said. “With Extended Recording, I can see what happened during the minutes prior to the collision—such as verifying if someone was in the correct lane and then determining if another driver actually impacted our vehicle.”